Child of Darkness, Warrior of Shadows
by Eternity can wait
Summary: One month after Nel resigns from the Sheild Legion a series of murders occur in Aquaria, prompting her return. But there's something wrong with these murders; there aren't any clues, aside from the bodies of his victims.
1. Shift

Child of Darkness, Warrior of shadows

Chapter One: Shift

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of any of the Star Ocean games, though I'd very much like to have some hand in the next one. The additional original characters, especially those involved in Albel's past, are all copyright 2005 to me.

Intro: This is my third fan fiction, if you didn't check my bio. It's still rather rough, and certainly has plenty of mistakes even if I can't find them. Feel free to provide constructive criticism whenever possible and keep in mind that I tend to work faster with motivating reviews. Also, just because the first chapter is pitiably short, that doesn't mean latter chapters won't be long.

"I'm leaving the service," Nel said calmly, keeping her eyes firmly shut. She hardly needed to see Clair to know her response.

"What? Why?" Clair asked, looking up. The unbelievable stack of paperwork left over from the war was giving her as much trouble as ever, and with lazy, sniveling little Lasselle constantly delegating paperwork to top officers, she hardly had a moment to think nowadays.

"Something about my life is, well…" Nel said, looking at the short sword in her left hand. "Let's just say I'm similar to someone I despise."

"You can't be serious! You're one of the most important runological fighters in the country!" Clair said, standing up quickly.

"Next to you, right?" Nel said, smirking, despite Clair's disdainful look. "Clair, look. I know you don't want me to leave, but it isn't like I'm going to abandon you. I'm simply going back to my father's estate."

"Really? I thought you hated that place," Clair asked, staring at her friend, trying to see any hint of what she was really doing this for.

"I'll manage," Nel said simply, sheathing her sword.

Clair sighed. It'd been like this since they were children; whenever Nel set her mind on something, there wasn't a thing Clair could do about it. She knew full well that Nel needed permission from her commanding officer to remove her runes, thus leaving the order, but at the same time, she knew Nel trusted her to make the right decision. To Clair, that trust meant much more than even the faith the Queen placed in her.

"Alright," Clair said quietly. "You win. Stand up so we can get this over with."

Nel obediently stood up and faced her friend. The two of them had been close since they were children, and no matter what Nel said, she knew they would grow apart after this.

"I, Lady Clair of the sacred order of Aquaria, hereby grant Nel Zelpher, private agent of the Queen, permission to remove her runes and her rank," Clair said stiffly. She knew the words, roughly, but no one had ever asked to leave the service before.

Nel stood silently, eyes closed, accepting her final order. All she needed to do now was go to the Moon Shrine for the removal ceremony, and she'd be free of the service forever. She wouldn't have to fight, to compare herself with others, and least of all with _him_. Any similarity between them ended today.

Clair glanced towards the hidden wall. Nel was bound to return anytime now. It'd already been over an hour since she'd headed through the secret passage located in the main office, and the shrine was a quarter of an hour away at most. The removal itself consisted of simply renouncing the blades and runes that show that one is a runological warrior, all of which took a total of five minutes. Even if some monster had gotten into the passage, which was unlikely, Nel wouldn't have taken long dispatching it.

Clair nearly cursed when she realized she'd just signed three documents without even noticing what they were. It was unacceptable for a Lady in the service to let her mind wander this way, especially when her thoughts were personal.

The door slid open, and Clair nearly knocked over her pile of papers.

Nel hadn't changed at all. She still had her runes and her swords, and didn't look at all upset. It was confusing; Nel didn't just change her mind like that.

"What happened? I thought you were going to leave the service?" Clair asked, standing up and turning to her friend.

"I remembered that there's something I still need these symbols for," Nel said, quietly, touching the runes on her left arm. "There are just a few things left. I'll be ready in a few months."

"But…" Clair said hurriedly, but Nel stalked out of the room without so much as turning her direction. "Nel?"

Clair knew something was wrong with her, but something, perhaps her trusting nature, kept her from following the Crimson Blade. After all, what real reason could Nel possibly have for lying to her?

Author's note: hey, it's a beginning. As a note, if you're some helpless fan who's just looking for a half decent, fairly long fic, this one should do. I've got a rough plot set up already and I've worked out the holes, so it should turn out okay. If I'm messing up Clair, tell me, but I'm using Nel how I choose for right now. As for the rest of the cast, only the ones from Elicoor are even going to have a chance of getting in this fic, and Roger is just out. If you review, I'll let you in on a few secrets about this fic.

Character Talk

Nel: I seem to have lost my grip on reality, just judging from what I just did.

Clair: Who's in charge here? You must be insane if you think I'm doing more paperwork!

Nel: And where'd this "office" come from and who am I supposed to be like?

Albel: ha ha ha…It's so obvious!

Nel: Where'd you come from? Keep out of my kingdom!

Albel: Your kingdom? I thought this place was open to travelers?

Me: okay, okay, listen up. I'm the guy writing this fic. First of all, Nel, you aren't acting normal for the majority of this fic. Albel, you don't come in for a while, but you'll still get a bigger speaking part than Clair and your entire life history, as told by me, contained in the story. Clair, well, you're the main perspective, so I can't exactly say you won't have a big part, but this fic is really about Nel.

Nel: Fic?

Clair: You mean I won't have to do much paperwork?

Albel: Who do you think you are, snooping around in my past?

Me: I'm the guy that can make you jump off a cliff if I feel like it.

Albel: Ah…well, I suppose you aren't as much of a fool as I thought.

Me: Anyways, I'm saying the name of the next chapter now.

Albel: Glorious Duel at Midnight!

Nel: Albel's swift demise!

Clair: Clair's day off!

Me: No no, shut up! It's _Murder_!

Albel: I haven't touched you yet!

Me: No, idiot! I meant the name of the chapter!


	2. Murder

Child of Darkness, Warrior of shadows

Chapter Two: Murder

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of any of the Star Ocean games, though I'd very much like to have some hand in the next one. The additional original characters, especially those involved in Albel's past, are all copyright 2005 to me.

Intro: This second chapter, though there was no delay between postings, is quite a bit longer than the first. Don't jump to any conclusions about the plot, however; and yes, Albel has a huge part in this fic.

Clair shook her head slowly.

"We have a positive ID on them; they were each suspected of criminal activity, but with insufficient evidence to do anything about them," Farleen said, hoarsely. She looked like a wreck, but then, who wouldn't after being assigned to a case like this?

"So, why were we ordered to do this? Isn't the normal military responsible for this?" Tynave asked quietly, looked at the dead body.

"It's obvious, right? Someone has been killing people with some of the strongest runology I've ever seen, and you're wondering why we were chosen to do this? We're runological combat specialists," Clair said angrily, looking away from the corpse.

The particular body Clair had been inspecting was a soot stain on the ground. Another one further down the alley had been cut to pieces by an extremely long, sharp sword. The wall next to him had been nearly cut in half.

"This is the third attack this week," Farleen said nervously. "And we still don't have any leads. Whoever is doing this is pretty careful. I can't even find a footprint!"

"This is the kind of thing I'd expect Albel the Wicked to do," Clair said, looking at the final corpse. This one looked like he'd actually seen who was attacking him; his mouth was still open in a soundless scream. There was a hole in his chest where his heart should have been.

"I'm sorry, but that's all," Clair was irritably. Lasselle, despite his knack for escaping actually doing any work, always seemed to assume she was supposed to keep him posted about every little mission she went on. It was infuriating, especially since he seemed to think he was being nice.

"I thought by now you'd have learned more. Why don't you call in someone from Airyglyph? I understand they're excellent with this kind of thing," Lasselle suggested snootily.

"Airyglyph! Don't be ridiculous!" Clair said, standing up. "We can't let them think we can't handle our own problems!" Clair would have loved for Lasselle to push the point; she'd been waiting for a chance to chew him out for months.

"Then what about Nel Zelphyr?" Lasselle suggested quickly. He knew when to escape.

"Nel?" Clair said, startled. "But she said she didn't want to fight anymore. And besides, she officially resigned a month ago."

"So? She doesn't have to fight to help you catch a murderer, and there's no law prohibiting a civilian aiding an investigation," Lasselle said quietly. "The people are becoming extremely paranoid. There have never been so many murders so quickly in Aquaria, and having people killed in Peterny, Arias and Aquaria all by the same murderer is unheard of! We need to catch this killer, soon." Lasselle backed out of the room and hurried away.

"We?" Clair asked spitefully. "Since when does he help with anything?"

Clair sat down, sighing. No matter how much it annoyed her, Lasselle had a point; it was extremely bad for the people for this killer to be loose out there. Even if many of them were afraid, many actually thought of the killer as a hero, killing the impure aspects of society that law couldn't touch. Clair had the sick feeling that this particular killer wouldn't stick to criminals for long, regardless of popular opinion.

At least she had a plan, now. There were only three real criminal organizations in Aquaria and all three of them were essentially bandits with exceptionally smart leaders. Each of these organizations had thus far suffered a serious blow at the hands of the killer, and by no means was Clair going to protect them. She had posted lookouts at all likely locations for the organizations to be attacked, so all she had to do now was wait. It was simple, really; once they had an ID on the killer, they could track them down with runology.

It was a simple plan, and it shouldn't have any flaws; yet, somehow, Clair couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

She shoved the thought out of her head and stood up. She had at least a couple hours to herself, now, unless the King of Airyglyph went insane and tried to invade, so she might as well go see Nel. She was actually rather curious to see if Nel was really okay, living in her family mansion alone, and she couldn't deny that Nel would make a valuable asset in this case. After all, she was the finest in Aquaria.

Clair stared up at the house. No, house is the wrong word. It was far too big to be a house. Clair recalled, dimly, that most rich people only had two, or possibly three stories. Nel's mansion was five stories tall and roughly as long and wide as five normal houses. The huge gate in front of her was made with steel bars as thick as a grown man's arm, and the oval wall surrounding the mansion must have been at least four feet thick. Clair looked around slowly, half expecting to see another, more manageable house. There was none; and why would there be, in the middle of the forest? The Zelphr family had owned this wood for centuries.

Clair nervously reached up and pulled the bell rope. It shouldn't have surprised her that it was louder than a bomb, considering the size of the estate. It took Clair by surprise and she spent the next few moments stumbling around in a daze.

A hand caught her shoulder. Clair wheeled around and looked at the woman with longish red hair standing there with a basket. She was wearing a plain white dress and a pair of soft boots.

"What are you doing here, Clair?" she asked, steadying Clair as she started to tip to her left again.

"Nel?" Clair said, staring at her friend's dress. It just didn't fit; Nel had never let her hair grow out before, mainly because it got in the way occasionally, and she'd certainly never worn anything that restricted her movements. Yet here she was in an ordinary long dress, which probably wouldn't even let her run properly, and hair past her shoulders.

"What?" Nel asked irritably, blushing. "It's not that strange!"

"Well, I guess I didn't think you'd really resigned until now," Clair said, looking at her friend. Nel shut her mouth and walked to the gate.

"I guess you want to come in?" Nel asked kindly over her shoulder as she unlatched the gate. It slid easily on its hinges and only took a slight shove to swing it all the way open.

"Well, I do have some time away from work," Clair said, following Nel as she headed for the main door. She wasn't sure, but it looked like forbidden runes had been etched into the door and removed long ago.

"Make yourself comfortable. Most of the mansion is still closed off, so there aren't many places to sit, I'm afraid," Nel said as she walked out of the main hall and slipped down a side corridor. Clair took a glance around the room and noted that most of the doors were indeed coated in dust, but the stairs seemed to have been recently used. Well, that made sense; in mansions like this, the servant's quarters were on the ground floor and the master's as high up as they could be.

Clair sat down on a stool in what had once been a first rate kitchen. It looked alright, overall, but it was obvious that someone had spent days scrubbing it. Many of the pot racks were nearly empty and it was easy to see where an entire counter had been removed. Well, It wasn't as though Nel was going to use a kitchen meant for at least twenty people.

"So, what did you really come for?" Nel asked, smiling, as she leaned on one of the metal counters.

"Huh? No, really I just came to see how you were," Clair said quickly, laughing. She stopped when she noticed how annoyed Nel looked.

"All right. There _is_ something that's been bothering me lately," Clair said, guiltily, then she took up her formal manner again to explain. "Over the past week, a series of murders have occurred throughout Aquaria. As of yet, all we know is that the murderer or murderers uses extremely powerful runology and a very long sword."

Nel rubbed her eyes and tapped her forehead. Clair hadn't seen her do that before; it must be a new mannerism she'd developed over the last month. Or maybe it was while she was running around with Fayt.

"I take it you have no suspects and absolutely no leads," Nel said coldly, looked at her friend in her familiar, militant way. "Or it wouldn't be troubling you, correct?"

"I have a suspect, with no grounds. Lately they say Albel the Wicked has been bored, so it's entirely possible he's been slaughtering people," Clair said calmly. "Of course, I have no proof. But we have yet to even find a footprint."

"I don't think it was Albel. It isn't his style, and aside from that he can't use runology," Nel said, shaking her head. "How powerful would you estimate the killer is?"

"Hard to say. It's obvious the victims had the opportunity to run, but each was dispatched with a single attack. We do know that in order to do that kind of damage, they'd have to use forbidden runes," Clair said, looking away.

"Forbidden runes? Interesting. I thought all of the actual runes were destroyed," Nel said calmly, propping her chin in her right hand. "Are you sure they didn't use something else?"

"It was runology, without a doubt. The place was humming with it when we arrived," Clair said, shaking her head.

Nel leaned back, seemingly lost in thought. In actuality she was thinking about her own experimentation with the forbidden runes kept within this very mansion. Coincidentally, the reason it was so large was to hide the location of those very runes from prying eyes.

"There's absolutely no way they used forbidden runology, because the few runes that remain are kept hidden in this mansion. I looked for moths at a time when I was young and I never found even one," Nel said distantly. Of course, that was a lie. She'd found every one after her mother died. Clair needn't know that Nel's own body was a fair guide to Forbidden runology.

"Then what else could it be? Nothing else has that kind of power!" Clair said, frustrated. Nel looked at her sharply. It wasn't often that Clair had so much stress in her life, but nonetheless, she couldn't help but feel that there was something else behind that look that Nel wasn't telling her.

"First of all, getting upset isn't going to help. Second, in order to use forbidden runes for anything a symbol grid has to be laid out. For an attack, such a grid would have to be made around the victim," Nel explained, standing up and walking to the window. "Third, I'm no longer in the legion. I can hardly help you solve the case."

"That's not a problem," Clair said, standing up. "Lasselle said that you could help as a citizen."

Nel laughed at that, but it was only a half laugh. Clair didn't laugh; something in the way Nel acted seemed so cold, so joyless. She'd been like this since her mother passed away, but living in the very house her mother had died in had made that joylessness all the more acute.

"He's actually useful for a change!" Nel said, leaning against the window with a smirk. "If the great escape artist is looking for loopholes for me, how can I refuse?"

"Then you want to help?" Clair said, torn between relief and guilt.

"Don't say it like that, I'll lose my nerve," Nel said, narrowing her eyes and cocking her head to one side playfully. "Honestly, you make everything sound so depressing!"

"Well, it's not like this is a vacation or something! There's an extremely powerful killer on the loose!" Clair said angrily. "This is a serious case! If you're just going to make remarks…"

"No, no, sorry. Of course I'll be serious. Just let me get changed, and I'll go back with you," Nel said, shaking her head gently and folding her arms. "I won't think of it like a mission otherwise." Nel turned and walked out of the room, smiling to herself. Helping Clair would be a welcome break from the monotony of civilian life, even if living in an enormous mansion wasn't exactly normal.

Author's note: This ones a bit longer, but since I'm submitting them at once, it's no real problem. Oh yes, if I'm mangling the characters in any way, tell me and I'll try to fix it, unless I completely disagree with you. Also, If there's something you'd like to know, such as when exactly the fic takes place, tell me, and if there's someone you'd like to see in the fic, I'd be happy to consider it if you tell me. Constructive criticism still approved. Don't just say you like it when you review, tell me what you like and dislike!

Character Talk

Me: This is kinda dark, even for me.

Nel: What am I doing? How, why, and when would I _ever_ live in a forest and spend my time cleaning?

Clair: Well, it isn't as bad as sitting around doing paperwork! Poor Farleen…

Albel: Am I in this thing or not? I seem to recall hearing something about my life story.

Me: Why? I thought you didn't want to tell everyone about your life?

Albel: I don't _care_ what you tell them as long as I get to _kill_ someone!

Me: Nope.

Albel: You worm!

Me: Watch it, I'll make you lose a fight! Aaaah, get away from me with that sword!

Nel: Well, since they're preoccupied…

Clair: That's really funny! I wish Farleen could take some time off to see this!

Me: You're all going to pay! Especially you, Albel!

Nel: Next chapter, Eyes. In the dead of night, a narrow escape!

Me: No way!

Albel: What? Stop running so I can kill you!

Me: She got the title right!


	3. Eyes

Child of Darkness, Warrior of shadows

Chapter Three: Eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of any of the Star Ocean games, though I'd very much like to have some hand in the next one. The additional original characters, especially those involved in Albel's past, are all copyright 2005 to me.

* * *

Clair put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Please, I need to know what you saw," Clair pleaded. The woman shook her head violently and pulled back. Clair sighed and turned away. This woman was an espionage expert; it was hard to imagine what she'd seen that had reduced her to such a fearful state.

"We got something out of her earlier, but it's vague," Tynave said quietly as Clair walked towards the corpses. "She kept mumbling something about red eyes."

"Albel Nox has red eyes," Clair said coldly, loud enough for Nel to hear.

Nel ignored her. She was kneeling next to the first corpse with her eyes closed. It was obvious that whoever had done this was powerful, but moreover, they were incredibly accurate. The first corpse had been dispatched with a single slash from shoulder to hip. The second corpse had a black hole in his chest where the better part of his organs should have been and the final corpse was missing a head.

"This was done in the space of a few seconds," Nel said carefully as she stood up and put her hands on her hips. "The killer was alone and used two swords that were longer than Albel's. In addition they were capable of using a highly focused flame in a fraction of a second."

"You could tell all of that just by looking at the bodies?" Tynave asked, startled.

"That, and the tree back there," Nel said, jabbing her thumb at the single tree on the street. "He jumped across the street between the three men and attacked them in midair. These three probably never even saw him."

"So you've confirmed it was a man, then?" Clair said quietly. Nel had realized more about the murderer than the entire shield legion put together, but none of it was definitive. And they were still missing a suspect.

"Not necessarily. An exceptionally strong woman could have done it as well, though a man is far more likely," Nel said, turning to Clair. "What did your agent say?"

"Nothing, really. All we have is that the killer has red eyes," Clair answered, shaking her head. "He must have been terrifying."

"Red eyes, huh?" Nel said absentmindedly as she looked up at the sky. She and Clair had come straight here from the Zelpher estate after Nel had changed back into her normal clothes. She'd only taken her swords along because Clair insisted that she would need them.

"It's a rare coloration," Clair said calmly. "There can't be more than a handful of people on the continent that have eyes that color."

"It's late. I'll tell you what I think in the morning," Nel said quietly, turning away. "I'll meet you in the main square tomorrow morning."

"Fine," Clair said turning to Nel. "But be careful on your way home."

"Whatever," Nel said, shaking her head.

* * *

"You're pushing it, kid," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Nobody insults Ryga and gets off. Get out before I throw you out."

The young man calmly picked up his tea, took a long sip, and put it back on the table. Ryga's usual intimidation wasn't working; whoever this scrawny guy was, he was either stupid or deaf.

"Hey! You listening to me?" Ryga yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. If this little pipsqueak thought he could just walk in, sit at his table and get away with it, he was in for some serious pain!

"You're starting to get on my nerves," the cloaked man said coolly, snatching his tea off the table so Ryga wouldn't knock it over, "worm."

"What'd you call me? I'll crush you!" Ryga pulled back for a punch and his two cronies went for their daggers. The east side bar was their territory; this guy would make a nice example to the other east side gangs.

"Have it your way," the cloaked man said as he stood up and put a hand on the sword leaning against his chair. "Overconfident maggots like you deserve it."

* * *

Nel and Clair walked down the street, one of them on edge, the other at ease. Clair could never be calm around so many potential thieves and bandits, but Nel had no problem with them; she'd traveled with Albel the Wicked, after all. Clair understood the idea of searching the east side for someone with red eyes since Peterny was in between all of the murder sites, but why they were doing it in person escaped her.

Clair was so busy watching her back that she was hardly aware of what was going on in front of them until they were practically to the tavern.

"Well, that isn't something you see every day," Nel said casually as she stopped next to the bar. Loud yelps were coming from inside the tavern, along with the occasional piece of furniture.

"What's going on?" Clair asked, staring at the tavern. It was shaking violently from the fight.

"Looks like one of Cliff's fights, actually. But judging by the screaming and general mayhem inside, it has to be someone more frightening," Nel answered, smiling slightly. Cliff's last fight in this tavern had taken care of most of Peterny's thugs.

"Why are we here, anyway? You told me we were going to find a suspect," Clair asked, shuddering slightly at the sound of breaking bottles coming from inside the tavern. It was such a senseless waste! And she knew her legion would get stuck handling the clean up, too.

Nel didn't have enough time to answer; a large man came soaring out the tavern window and landed in a painful heap against the opposite building.

"Look, the worm survived," Albel said, smirking psychotically as he stepped to the window, dragging another man by the neck with his artificial hand. "Why don't you go join him?"

Nel watched dully as the man soared across the street and landed in a similar position to the first. Both men looked alive, which was surprising considering who they were just fighting. Nel stifled a yawn.

Clair was stunned for a moment, but only a moment. Anger overpowered every other emotion and before she or Nel realized it, she was heading for Albel like an attack dog.

"What do you think you're doing? This is Aquaria and we'll handle our own problems, thank you very much!" Clair said angrily. She was less than an inch from Albel when she got to him. He shot back a good five feet into a defensive crouch after one look at her. He looked more intimidated by Clair than any monster he'd ever faced.

"Calm down," Nel said as she placed a hand on Clair's shoulder. "I'm sure Albel was only fighting some thugs."

"Worms," Albel corrected her, straitening up back to his usual superior self.

"Right. Anyway, Clair here wants to arrest you for killing some people in Aquaria," Nel said quietly, looking at Albel mischievously.

"What? I said he was the main suspect, but we can't arrest someone on a hunch!" Clair said, stupefied. She stared at Nel like she'd gone insane.

"I said _wants_," Nel said, smiling.

"The infamous killer, eh? I read my agent's report before I came," Albel said coolly, smirking. "I'm here to see if this killer is as strong as everyone says."

"Really? I guess the tournament on Greeton wasn't enough of a challenge, then?" Nel said quietly, cocking her head to one side. "I heard you nearly lost a fight."

"Humph, I admit some of those Greeton weaklings had some interesting attacks, but none of them came close to beating me," Albel said, resting his sword on his shoulder. "Those cowards all used underhanded tricks. Not one of them was willing to directly attack me."

"Well, not many people are stupid enough to attack you directly," Nel said, folding her arms. "And I seriously doubt our killer is the type to fight head on."

"Huh, I don't care what type of fighter he is. I'll force him to fight me head on and crush him!" Albel said, making a fist to emphasize his point.

"How much did your agent tell you, again? I suppose they didn't hear my evaluation of the killer's abilities," Nel said, shaking her head. "That's pretty poor espionage."

"Hey…" Albel started, but Nel cut him off.

"No. I came and found you last night on your way into town. I knew you'd come eventually; you wouldn't dream of letting a swordsman as good as you run around unchallenged," Nel said, leveling a finger at Albel. "You didn't even check the murder sites, and you're already making assumptions about the target. How do you know this enemy can't simply outrun you?"

Albel grimaced and folded his arms. He really hated having to take this from an Aquarian, least of all Nel. She had half the battle experience he did and half the battle finesse. He had to give her credit for speed and cunning, and natural skill, but aside from that she was, when you got down to it, just a spy. Then again, he wasn't complaining about the lecture like he usually would, so perhaps she meant something more to him after all? Albel shoved that thought aside and labeled it "stupid."

"Something wrong?" Nel asked, setting her head to one side. "Or did you have something to say?"

"Albel, are you interested in helping us solve this case?" Clair asked bluntly, cutting Albel and Nel short. "Or are you just here to cause trouble?"

"Sure, why not? I'll help you two get rid of your killer. I came here to have some fun, after all," Albel said, smirking.

"What?" Nel asked, rounding on Clair. "He can't work with us!"

"Why? You worked with him to get rid of the Vendeeni, right?" Clair asked, turning to her friend. Albel raised an eyebrow and took a good look at Nel. Her hair was considerably longer and she seemed to have lost her cool-headed facade. The Nel that had helped bring down Crossel certainly hadn't been so emotional.

"I…just don't want to work with him!" Nel half yelled, backing up. "I can't believe you're encouraging this! I thought you'd try to get rid of him!"

"Nel, I…" Clair started, but, not unlike a child, Nel turned and ran.

"What's wrong with her?" Albel asked, visibly concerned. He stowed his emotions away before Clair could see them clearly. It wouldn't do to have anyone think he was soft.

"I'm not sure, but it might be…about her mother," Clair said, looking away. "She died from wounds in a battle with…"

Albel froze. He knew what Clair wanted to say all too well. His father had blindly followed the former King's orders with no qualms. He'd killed far more members of the Secret Legion than even Albel. If Nel's mother had been among them, then it made perfect sense for Nel to have a grudge against him.

"Forget it. I never asked," Albel said, softly, as he turned away. "I'll search for the killer on my own, if that's alright with you."

"Yes, that's fine," Clair said, watching the strange swordsman make his way down the street. There was a slight darkness that clung to him. It was the sign of old, painful memories stirring to the surface again, and Clair was sorry for both him, and Nel.

* * *

Author's Note: That's Chapter three for all ya'll that have been so patient. I know it took me about…whooh, over a month, to update, so please forgive me. I went on a manga binge and lost all touch with reality, but I'm back now! Don't worry; the next chapter will explain why Nel is acting so weird!

Character Talk

Nel: Stop doing this to me!

Me: What?

Nel: Am I an idiot? Did I go insane?

Me:...I'm not at liberty to disclose that information.

Albel: I have a serious problem with this story; You see, those thugs should have died…

Clair: Just what I expected from you! It's nothing but violence with you Airyglyph jerks!

Albel: What?

Nel: Clair?

Calir: Ah, um…

Me: MWAHAHAHA!

Nel, Albel, and Clair: _Get him!_

Monthly Questionnaire:

What do you say when you wake up in the morning?

A. Good morning, world!

b. (sniff for coffee)

c. The World is made of…Love and Peace!

d. Who would've thought I'd wake up here?

e. (mini-gun firing)


End file.
